How Carbon Credits Save Lives in Kenya

Vestargaard Frandsen is a Swiss for-profit company that's in business to save lives in the global south. Its products include Lifestraw, a portable water filter and Permanet, a long-lasting bednet to protect people from malaria.

Ordinarily, it sells these products to aid organizations and governments. Then they're given to people in need. This time, Vestergaard is trying something different: It's directly giving away about 1 million Lifestraws, at a cost of nearly $30 million, mobilizing thousands of local people to do so, tracking results carefully and expecting to be paid back in the form of carbon credits.